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Sunday 26 February 2017
Friday 24 February 2017
Review - Various - Terraforming In Analogue Space (IRL Remixes 2000-2015)
Various: Terraforming In Analogue Space
(IRL Remixes 2000-2015) (Independent Records Ltd)
LP / CD / DL
8.75 / 10
24 February 2017
IRL celebrate their fifteenth Birthday
with a refreshing look at their back catalogue.
When Nick Page (aka Dubulah), one third
of the founding members of IRL suggested that they take fifteen of their
pivotal World music tracks and hand them over to modern day remixers, Ian
Brennan and Justin Adams may well have think he had lost his mind. The
foresight and the ensuing vision however have created an album of incredible
quality, interest and musical credit.
With a collective CV that includes
working with the likes of Jah Wobble, Sinead O’Connor, Beth Orton and The
Wonder Stuff, the trio have assembled a fifteen-track compendium that breathes incredible
life into some already incredible music.
Terraforming In Analogue Space is the
labels 100th release and is more than just another remix album. As well as the main disc featuring Xaos, Dub
Colossus and Lo’Jo amongst others, a second disc is included. This additional disc features the original
tracks, or snippets of them, which makes the whole project open a whole new
angle. Congratulations South Sudan
(General Paolino) and Ndinasangalala (Malawi Mouse Boys) are gorgeous in their
raw naivety and hold a certain charm in their original form. This charm is wonderfully updated to modern
day drum n bass versions which could almost have been recorded yesterday.
As early as the first track – Oualahila
by Tinariwen remixed from Transglobal Underground – it is clear how
accomplished the album is. The
unmistakable sound of the Grammy Award winners Malian desert rock provides a
brilliant start as the repetitive percussion and unique guitar sounds mingle
with an addictive chorus of voices.
Sur Des Carnets Nus from Lo’Jo sounds
like Jacques Brel over an improvised jazz backing remix courtesy of Syriana,
and the gorgeous Pindos Full Moon by Xaos is given a stunning treatment by T.J.
Rhemi. In an album that contains
dancehall, drum and bass, dubstep and ambient, Dub Colossus pop up with the
brilliant A Voice Has Power (Insentisi Mix) with some fabulous reverb and
growling vocals.
A brave album from IRL, and in turn a
great album made even better by the second disc providing the proverbial
complete package. Something for everyone
and one that has already made its mark.
Thursday 23 February 2017
Wednesday 22 February 2017
News! - ALL HAIL HYENA Live At The Ferret
Hyena Inc. are pleased to announce the forthcoming pop concert on February 25th 2017 at the Ferret. Featuring Bonanza Tungsten Ladies. All Hail Hyena, Condor Moments and Bob Drake.
Absolutely thrilled to have such a beautiful line up of wonderful talent in one place for an evening of pop brilliance!
Ticket holders will recieve a complimentary glass of bubbly and a Rose on arrival, and all ticket holders will become members of the All Hail Hyena fan club. This exclusive club membership entails them to a birthday card on the anniversary of their birth, a free Hyenasticker, the latest newsletter in a durable format and a warm hug.
Bob Drake - Originally from the rural Midwest USA, Bob has been playing many instruments in and making recordings of all sorts of bands since the early 1970's. Since 1994 he has released 9 solo albums on the Recommended Records label, the most recent being Arx Pilosa released in October 2016. He began doing solo shows in 2015.
Oh and he engineered and produced that Condor Moments album back oi '07
Website: www.bdrak.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Bob-Drake-1556527131344809/
Condor Moments - Condor Moments have recorded a titans breakfast report of songs in the remote foothills of the Pyrenees with the mad hermit engineer/producer/musician cult hero Bob Drake. This masterwork “And Though We’re Told We’ve Got it All, The All We’ve Got is Freezing Cold”, is capable of promoting healthy nudist living and welcoming listeners to their unremembered collective past lives and psychic marshes.
Bonanza Tungsten Ladies.
The three piece consisting of Maria Goncalves, Dahia al-Kahina and Mae de Santo hail from Peru and arrived in the UK on a 3 week Visa as part of an exchange programme . The preston exchangees lost their passports in the Amazon rain forest and subsequently the exchange programme has collapsed, leaving the ladies exiled here, sometimes camping out in the infamous Miley tunnel in Preston when not staying in my flat
All Hail Hyena - Under the close watch of Hyena Inc. They have been allowed to perform at this concert on the condition that Jay hugs at least 50 people on the night after playing their set in his pyjamas, Tom does not expose his buttocks to the front row mid set and Rob will refrain from telling all the boys with beards at the concert to shave them off. They have a new drummer (hello Rob) and new songs and a new single to launch MAN UP from their forthcoming record S T I C K € R S and a new fan club and a new outlook on life. Be part of this wonderful cult.
Tuesday 21 February 2017
Review - Sherwood & Pinch – Man vs Sofa
Sherwood & Pinch – Man vs Sofa (On-USound Vs Tectonic Recordings)
LP / CD / DL
8.5 / 10
24 February 2017
Adrian Sherwood and Rob Ellis (aka
Pinch) return with their not so difficult second album and it is nothing short
of a resounding success. The follow up
to Late Night Endless sees the duo, now in their fifth year of recording and
recoding together, developing a sound that belongs to neither party but creates
a niche sound that the pair can begin to call their own. As before, there are mighty bass sounds
throughout and more dub effects that you can shake a dubby stick at, as reggae,
techno and drum n bass are given their unmistakable treatment.
The credentials of both men can never be
questioned with Sherwood at the forefront of alternative and weird for over
thirty years and now, fully ensconced in the digital era, enjoying a continuing
ascendancy into the musical archives of popular dance culture. Pinch, the dubstep impresario known for his
journeys into reggae and jazz fusion seems to be the perfect working partner,
and vice versa.
Where, Late Night Endless centred around
meditative sonic sounds, the new collection of eleven tracks sees a more
technoid direction with distinctive overlays of percussion loops and far less
(if any) samples from the On-U sound vaults than featured previously. Martin Duffy of Primal Scream fame is present
of five tracks via the medium of piano and the tinkling ivories, often in an
improvising and intuitive fashion bring an element of jazz to the proceedings,
the title track and ‘Charger’ being prime examples of some quite stunning interplay
between all concerned.
Indeed, from the beginnings of opening
track ‘Roll Call’ the scene if firmly set.
Deep bass juddering and echoed pops provide at parts an almost modern
day version of Isaac Hayes’ ‘Theme From Shaft’, and further reminiscences comes
in the shape of a cover version of sorts of ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’. The Ryuichi Sakamoto track is nothing short
of beautiful as it takes the 80s film soundtrack theme and adds delicate and
emotive effects throughout making it a complete work of art. Halfway through it descends into an eclectic
chaos, which on first listen sounds wrong but on subsequent hearings confirms
the work of near genius.
Further guest appearances come in the shape
of Skip MacDonald (the mighty Tackhead, Little Axe, Sugarhill Gang) and the unmistakable
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry lends his instantly recognisable tones to ‘Lies’. Album lead ‘Retribution’ is a stormer of a
track with innocuous beginnings soon to explode into a thumping dub and
percussion heavy moon-bounce filled with a plethora of sounds, bytes and
effects.
The vocals of Taz, former Dizzee Rascal
collaborator on album closer ‘Gun Law’ sees the album end on another high note of buzzing bass and raw
vocals confirming that Sherwood & Pinch are far more than a one-trick
pony. Album two comfortably under their belt,
the prospect of a hat-trick completion is mouth-watering to say the least. Great stuff.
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